Sewing machine support



SEWING MACHINE SUPPORT Filed June 18, 1945 IN VEN TOR.

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Patented May 2o, 1947 SEWING MACHINE SUPPORT Clarence S. Best, Belvidere, Ill., assigner to National Sewing Machine Company, Belvidere, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application June 18, 1945, Serial No. 600,133

This invention relates to sewing machine supports, and particularly to supports of the drop head cabinet type provided with e, hinged lid for covering the drop head opening in the table top of the support.

The main object of th'e invention is to provide automatically operable means for supporting the hinged lid when the lid is in open position, that is, when it forms an extension member for the table top of the support.

Another object is to provide automatically operable means for supporting the hinged lid, actuated by the lid itself in the act of being moved to open position.

Heretofore the hinges which connect th'e lid to the support have been relied upon to support the lid in its extended position, or a manually operable pivoted bracket has been employed to aid in supporting the lid in horizontal position, but these devices have proven unsatisfactory because the hinges, per se, are not capable of carrying the weight of the extended lid and, when manually operable pivotally mounted brackets are used, th'e operator frequently fails to move such brackets into operative position. By emf ploying my automatically operable supporting means for the lid of a sewing machine cabinet, the lid in extended position is positively and dependably supported so that it is capable of functioning as an extension of the work table and to carry the load usually placed upon it in the sewing operation.

In the drawings: n

Fig. 1 is an end elevational view of a drop head sewing machine cabinet embodying my invention, showing the hinged lid in closed position and the lid supporting means in retracted position.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through th'at end of the table top shown in Fig. 1, showing the lid supporting arm in retracted position in full lines and the lid supporting position in dotted lines, the section being taken in the plane of the line 2-2 on Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken in the plane of the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, showing the lid in closed position and the supporting arm retracted.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showingthe position of the parts when the lid is in open or extended position and the supporting arm is in lid supporting position.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a sewing machine cabinet or support embodying my invention, and also showing the lid and supporting arm 9 Claims. (Cl. 311-12) in dotted lines as they appear in operative posi- Fig. 2. The

tions.

The invention may be applied to any conventional drop head cabinet or sewing machine support provided with a table top I0, legs II, lid I2 and hinges I3, I3.

In conventional drop head cabinets, the table top I2 is provided with the usual opening and head supporting means indicated as a whole at I4 in Fig. 5, but, obviously, the table top may be solid and be used for supporting a portable sewing machine, or for other purposes.

The automatically operable lid supporting means of my invention comprises an arm I5, pivotally mounted by a pivot pin I6 on a' plate Il rigidly connected to a iixed part of the table or cabinet, su'iciently below the table top I0 to provide room for the arm I5 to move between the plate ll and under side of the table top I0. The plate I'I is slotted arcuately as indicated at I8 in inner end of the arm I5 is provided with a depending stud I9 which extends through the slot I8 and is adapted to travel therein. Depending from the plate Il is :a fixed stud 20, the movable stud I9 and xed stud 20 being connected together by the coiled spring 2 I. The contractile tendency of the spring 2l tends to move the stud I9 and inner end of the arm I5 toward the xed stud 2-, resulting in moving the arm I5 into the dotted line position of Fig. 2. However, the arm I5 is retained in retracted position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2, and in Fig. 3, by latching means.

Said latching means is located in a recess 22 provided in the end of the table top I0, and comprises a pair of straps 23, 23, bent between their ends, one end of each strap 23 being rigidly connected to the under side of the table top I0 by screws or rivets 24 and the other end being apertured to receive a pivot pin 25 for the purpose oimounting a bell crank lever 26 between the straps 23. The arm 21 of the lever` 26 contacts the end of a slidable bolt 28 mounted horizontally in the table top above part of said recess 22. The bolt '28 extends into the recess 22 at one end and protrudes at the other end from the edge of the table top I0 as indicated at 29. The other arm 30 of the bell crank lever 26 has a latch end adapted to engage a recess 3l in th'e side of the arm I5.

The slidable bolt 28 is slotted at 32 between its ends, and the table top I0 is apertured above the slot 32 to receive the head 33 of a pin 34 which extends through the slot 32 in the table top I into the recess 22 with its lower end bearing on the arm 30 of the lever 26.

A bumper 35 is iixed on the plate Il and a bumper 36 is fastened to a leg II.

The operation of the automatically operable lid supporting means is as follows: When the lid I2 is in the closed position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the arm I Will have been moved manually to its retracted position, and the pressure of the lid I2 on the head 33 of the pin 34 will cause the pin 34 to bear on the arm 30 of the lever 26 and hold the arm 21 of the said lever in contact with the bolt 28, thereby forcing the bolt into its outwardly projecting position, with the end 29 protruding from the edge of the table top Ill. When the lid I 2 is pivotally moved to open or extended position, as shown in Fig. 4, the lid I2 will engage the end 29 of the bolt 28 and cause the bolt to be moved inwardly, thereby moving the lever 26 about its fulcrum 25 and causing the latch end 3|] to disengage the notch 3| of the arm I5. The pivotal movement of the lever 26, raises the pin 3d and head 33 as shown in Fig. 4. As soon as the arm I5 has been released by the latch 3U of the lever 2S, the contractile tendency of the spring 2I will urge the inner end of the arm toward the stud 2li and thereby automatically swing the arm I5 into its lid supporting position under the extended lid, as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 5.

The bumpers 35 and 35 limitthe movement of the arm I5 in opposite directions.

Changes may be made in details and form of construction without departing from the scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A sewing machine support comprising a table top, a lid hingedly connected thereto, and lid actuated means for supporting the lid when in extended position, said means comprising a lid supporting arm, a lixed support under the table top on which the arm is pivotally mounted, means on the supporting arm and xed support for automatically urging the arm to lid supporting position, latching means mounted in the table top adapted to engage the supporting arm in retracted position, anda bolt slidably mounted in the table top, the outer end of the bolt protruding from the` edge of the table top when the latching means is in arm-engaging position, moving of the lid to extended position forcing said bolt inwardly and thereby releasing the latching means.

2. The sewing machine support defined by claim l, in which the latching means comprises a bell crank lever pivotally mounted in the table top, said lever having a bolt-contacted arm and va latching arm, said latching arm being adapted to engage the lid supporting arm in retracted position.

3. The sewing machine support dened by claim 1, which includes means mounted in the table top and depressible by the lid when in closed position for holding the latching means in armand bolt-engaging position.

4. The sewing machine support deiined by claim 1, which includes means mounted in the table top and depressible by the lid when in closed position for holding the latching means in armand bolt-engaging position, comprising a headed pin vertically movable in the table top with the pin portion extending through a slot 4 in the bolt and bearing on the latching means.

5. The sewing machine support dened by claim 1, in which the means on the supporting arm and xed support for automatically urging the arm to lid supporting position, comprises a coiled spring connected to the arm and to said iixed support.

6. The sewing machine support delined by claim 1, in which the means on the supporting arm and lixed support for automatically urging the arm to lid supporting position, comprises a stud depending from the arm, a stud on the xed support, said support being provided With an arcuate slot through which said stud on the arm extends, and a coiled spring having one end attached to the stud on the arm and the other end attached to the stud on the support.

7. A sewing machine support comprising a table top, a lid hingedly connected thereto, and lid actuated means for supporting the lid when in extended position, said means comprising a lid supporting arm, a fixed support under the table top, said arm being pivotally mounted on the fixed support, means between the arm and support for automatically urging the arm to lid supporting position, latching means mounted in the table top, said latching means comprising a bell crank lever pivotally mounted in a recess in the table top, said lever having a latching arm adapted to engage the lid supporting arm in retracted position, a bolt slidably mounted in the table top, said `bell crank lever having an arm in contact with the inner end of the bolt, the outer end of the bolt protruding from the edge of the table top when the latching arm of the lever engagesI the lid supporting arm, and means mounted in the table top and depressible by the lid for holding the bell crank lever in armand bolt-engaging position, said lid when in extended position contacting the protruding end of the slidable bolt and moving said bolt inwardly and thereby actuating the lever and releasing the latching means.

8. The sewing machine support defined by claim 7, in which the means between the arm and support for automatically urging the arm to lid supporting position, comprises a stud depending from the arm, a stud on the xed support, said support being provided with an arcuate slot through Ywhich said stud on the arm extends, and a coiled spring having one end attached to the stud on the arm and the other end attached to the stud on the support.

9. The sewing machine support dened by claim '7, in which the means mounted in the table top and depressible by the lid for holding the .bell crank lever in armand bolt-engaging position, comprises a headed pin vertically movable in the table top with the pin portion extending through a slot in the bolt and bearing on the latching means.

CLARENCE S. BEST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,798,786 Chason Mar. 31, 1931 2,362,243 Chason et al 1 Nov. 7, 1944 

